Fool's Gold
by Yamamoto Ameko
Summary: I haven't finished the series, so what didn't happen in this story didn't happen. Like, Fang didn't leave. I'm told he does that. Years after Max's adventurs, the Clinic is still experimenting. Pyrite and the others escape, as Max did. So begins a story
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

She was running; running faster than she had ever run before. She could hear the pounding of her four companions' feet on the stone floor behind her. Past them, the thunder and scratch of claws seemed to drown out the roaring beat of her own heart. Even in the mazes, Pyrite had never been so frightened. She had never run for her life.

She barely thought about it as she jerked around a left turn, feeling the others follow. She didn't know where she was going; only that she had to find a way out. Any turn might take her straight into a trap; or to an escape. She knew she had to risk it.

"Your luck hasn't run out yet, Pyre!" Keegan's voice sounded over the crashing of feet as they burst out onto a gravel path. The stones cut into her feet, and Pyre's steps faltered as, for a moment, she was totally blinded by the burst of sunlight. It was something she had never seen before, and she was not enjoying her first taste of it. Behind her, she could hear the others crying out in pain.

And then a small hand slipped into hers and pulled her on. She yelped, stumbling before she regained her balance. Still blinded, she followed her tiny companion willingly. She knew who it must be; Frond, one of the twins. There was nothing his huge green eyes couldn't see.

As she followed him, the others also picked up their pace. She felt another set of small fingers take her free hand. Lazuli, Frond's sister. She knew that Michael must also have joined the chain. They followed each other with a trust that no one could ever deserve.

The screaming yelps of Erasers made Pyre's heart soar. They were as blinded as she was' Frond's eyes had bought their escape.

Slowly, the white pain of sunlight faded away. She blinked, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked for the first time upon a world not made of steel. The others gasped in wonder. Glancing back, she saw that even Michael had been moved to tears.

The world around them was full of color; greens and browns amongst the trees, blue-gray from the scattered stones. There were a few flowers; pale violets and blinding yellows among the tangled, thorny undergrowth. The moss beneath her feet gave way as cement and steel never had. Digging her toes into it, she kicked to higher speeds, her long legs carrying her past Frond. The others released one another's hands as their vision cleared. Birds screamed as they raced by, taking off to soar in a cloud around the five children.

They ran further, and Pyrite looked up at the twisting branches. Her heart sank. There was not enough room for them to take off; not all of them.

"Frond, Laz!" She shouted. The twins, running together, looked up. Neither appeared frightened. The Clinic had already disappeared behind them, "Escape while you can! You have to get away, at least!"

They hesitated. They didn't want to leave their friends.

"If we don't catch up, find Mirage!"

Their faces cleared. Pyre could see the sudden confidence in their eyes. Even if only the twins escaped, there was someone like them, somewhere in the world, who was strong. Who would take care of them.

"Up and away!" Lazuli's voice was high and clear. She sprang into the air, pulling her brother up behind her. Pyrite didn't have time to watch as they snapped their wings open. Lazuli's flashed blue, like her hair and her eyes, clashing with Frond's shimmering green.

Pyrite felt more than saw the smooth slice of their feathers in the air as they swerved away, weaving among the trees and into the azure sky. For a moment, their narrow wings blocked the sun, and then they were gone.

"Pyre!" She glanced over her shoulder ad Michael's shout, "There's a gap ahead!"

She nodded shortly, turning back to the path. She trusted Michael's senses; his radar, as they called it. Within a hundred yards, there was an opening into the sky.

Moments later, she saw it. A bit of golden sunlight in the mottled greens of the forest. She lengthened her stride, and the boys fell in at her sides. They burst out of the forest, and Pyrite opened her wings.

She cried out in astonishment. She knew the glistening russet of her eighteen foot wingspan, but she had never imagined what it might look like in the sun.

She was gliding on wings of fire.

Behind her came the familiar rushing snap of Michael's wings as they blew open. And then the thunderous crack as Keegan's takeoff broke the sound barrier, stunning his friends for a moment. She felt his hand catch roughly in the back of her nightgown, and then she was jerked straight up, faster than she had ever moved before. She pinned her arms and wings tight to her sides, and still she feared that they would be torn from her body. On the other side, she could hear Michael's swears as they were swept off into nothingness.

And then they shrieked to a halt. Pyrite opened her wings again, catching the wind in her feathers and trying to find her breath. Michael's wings beat like gray-flecked shadows. His dead gray eyes were fixed in a steely glare on Keegan's cheerful face.

"I will kill you." He whispered. Keegan just shrugged.

"I got us away, didn't I?"

Pyrite ignored the brewing argument, looking down at the spot they had just launched from. It was nearly a hundred miles gone, the clearing nothing more than a pin-sized speck in a sea of black pines.

"where are the twins?" She demanded just as the boys began to shout. They fell silent, meeting her anxious venom-green eyes, "Can you feel them, Michael?"

He shook his black hair out of his face, "Nothing." He murmured, "My range isn't all that large."

Pyrite's heart almost stopped. She had to work to make her wings move.

"Keegan, find them."

"He won't know if anything's coming." Michael protested.

"We have no choice." Pyrite argued, "He's the only one fast enough to stop them from leaving."

"But he's _deaf_." Michael snapped. Keegan flushed angrily, "If they're calling, he won't hear."

"Then I'll go with him." Pyre hissed, seizing Keegan's hand. He glanced anxiously at her. She knew he could feel her temper flaring ever hotter. The connection they shared made his deafness irrelevant, as long as she was near him. He could hear anything she could.

Pyre tried to pull Keegan on, but found herself glued in place by his massive hand.

She looked up at him, seeing fear and dismay in his blue eyes. He shook his shaggy blonde hair, his jaws clenched in refusal.

"Let's go." She growled, tugging again. But he was so much _stronger_…

"I won't take you back there." Keegan argued shortly, in the same instant as Michael snapped, "I won't let him take you _back _there!"

Keegan glanced at Michael, hearing the words in Pyrite's mind. He nodded in agreement.

"So you condemn them to death?" Pyrite snapped. The boys hesitated, and she tugged sharply on Keegan's hand, off-balancing him, "Let's go!"

With a resigned sigh, Keegan took her firmly in his arms and angled himself downward. One flap of his broad white wings and she felt the lethal tug on her wings once more.

"Wait!" Michael gasped, grabbing hold of Keegan's nightgown just in time to be pulled along.

They came to a halt once more just above the trees. Pyrite could barely breathe. She never wanted to move that way again.

Both of them were still gasping, but Pyre turned to Michael. Her eyes were questioning.

"Hold on," He rasped, and he dropped lightly into the nearest treetop. Pyrite folded her wings and plunged after him, down into the branches. She landed beside him, a short distance from the trunk. He was slumped against the rough bark, eyes closed, probably trying to slow his heart.

"You two alright?!" Keegan's voice sounded barely ten feet above, brimming with worry. Pyrite peered more closely at Michael. His face, to any other, would have seemed blank. Pyrite could see his pain.

"We're not built for sonic flight!" Pyre shouted back, "Can you see anything?!"

"A lot of trees!"

She rolled her eyes in irritation, "The twins!"

"No! Not here!"

Pyrite glanced back at Michael, fidgeting on the tree. He was pale, still gasping. Michael would never admit it, but as strong as he was, Pyre recovered faster. He didn't looked like he'd be all that useful for some time.

"Keegan, get Mike!" She called finally, springing up off the branch and into the open sky.

Panic fluttered in her chest, restricting her breathing. They had only just escaped. Was it possible that the Erasers had caught the twins?

She raced up and down the forest, shouting their names, skimming across the tops of trees and coming dangerously close to the Clinic's white walls. In the sea of dark emerald formed by summer leaves, Frond might have been difficult to find. But Lazuli's blazing blue should have been clear…

A chorus of clicks alerted her inhuman ears just in time, and Pyre spun out of flight, crashing down into the grasping fingers of the forest. A hail of bullet sheeted by just above her.

She spun out of control through the canopy, twigs shattering against her skin, many drawing blood. The space was too tight; she could barely move her wings to stay aloft, let alone try to steer. She had no clue where the enemy was; she only hoped she was flying _away_.

It was a shock to realize she no longer knew which way was up, nor down. Before she could react, she crashed into the ground, head first.

For the shortest instant, everything went black. And then pain split her skull in a blinding flash. Her entire body stiffened in a scream of agony, her wings beating helplessly against the dirt. She didn't care that the Erasers were coming for her. She just wanted the pain to end.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

She was barley aware of the strong arms that grasped her, the wings that beat at her sides and lifted her towards the sky. At the back of her head, she knew something was wrong. The hands were too strong to be Michael's, too soft to be Keegan's… and Erasers were furrier.

"Max!" The voice of the man who carried her made her head hurt more, "I got the Roman Candle!"

"Pyre!" Keegan's terror shook off Pyre's pain. She opened her eyes and looked at the man who held her.

She could see only his head and shoulders, but she could see that he must be very tall, and very thin. His hair was sandy, falling loosely to his shoulders around fair, freckled skin. His blue eyes did not look at her… they did not look at anything.

_Blind_...

Suddenly, Michael was there, prying her out of the blind man's arms. His face brimmed with mistrust.

"How's your head?" He growled, beating his wings to pull back to Keegan's side. The big boy put himself between them and the blind man, "Keegan said you were hearing gunshots…"

"Max…" The blind man complained.

"Relax, Iggy," The new voice was a woman's. Pyre had been so busy watching Iggy, she had forgotten to wonder who he was calling for.

Now, another being with wings swerved into her view. Pyre hadn't thought there were so many of her kind; as far as she had known, only Mirage had ever escaped. But this woman very clearly had wings; deep brown on top, fading down to white. Her hair fell in twisting waves to her shoulders, shimmering honey gold in the sunlight. Her blue eyes were friendly, energetic. She didn't look unfriendly… but she was built like all of them, for fighting.

"Let go of me," Pyre growled, struggling out of Michael's arms. She dropped for an instant, before beating back into place at his side. She could feel blood sticking her hair, but the flow had already stopped. The cut would heal by midnight; she was in no danger, "Who are you?"

"Maximum Ride," The woman introduced herself, grinning, "And this is Iggy."

"What do you want?" Michael snarled. His hand was still strong in the small of Pyre's back.

Max twisted in midair. One flap drove her several feet away from them.

"Gazzy is out looking for those colorful kids you sent ahead." She called back to them. Pyre froze. _The twins…_

"We're friends." Iggy continued for Max, "We've got a home about a day's fly from here. Think you can make it that far?"

Pyre stared at him for a moment. They had _just _escaped the Clinic. Already, they had friends? Friends she felt like she could trust…

Suddenly, she was following Max, her mind entirely focused on her missing flock-mates. Michael's hand caught her wrist, but she pulled him on. Keegan followed them anxiously, Iggy falling in behind.

"What are you thinking?!" Michael snarled.

"They'll find the twins!"

"Pyre," Keegan murmured, "How many other people do you know with wings? What if they're spies for the Clinic?"

Pyrite hesitated mid-flight, dropping a notch.

"You alright back there?!" Pyrite looked up to find Max watching her, concerned. In that instant, she was sure.

"She is a friend." She murmured, and sped up to soar at Maximum's side.

Hours passed. They soared over lands more beautiful than Pyre had ever imagined. Emerald forest and rusty desert, golden meadow and glittering water. Twelve hours later, they were skimming low over a series of snow peaks. Pyrite's head was already healing; underneath the late afternoon sun, she felt like she could fly for days. But the boys; who hadn't been flown as much at the Clinic; were lagging.

"How far do we have to go?" She asked, swooping in next to Max, who dodged her wing neatly. Next to her inexperienced flock-mates, Pyre was an incredibly flier. Next to Max and Iggy, she might as well have been a fish.

"We live in a cabin on top of that mountain." Max replied, pointed to a jagged peak spiking out of the range not a mile to the north. She angled her feathers, tilting to soar barely an inch over pyre's back. Pyre had to force herself not to shy down away from her, "Ig, go find Nudge! She'll still be with the hawks, at this time of day!"

"Right," He murmured. Pyre gasped as his speed increased. She was already flying at her limit, but he blew easily by her.

"How does he know where he's going?" Keegan wondered aloud as Iggy's white wings retreated.

"We live here, remember?" Max chuckled, swerving again over Pyre's back, and then pressing in from that side to guide Pyre to the left, "Besides, he can see white things."

Pyre blinked, and looked around at the snowy peaks of the mountains.

"That would make this a… good home…" She murmured.

"It's one of the reasons we picked it." Max agreed, switching to her other side and then pulling ahead just a bit, until she was in the lead, "That and the hawks."

"Hawks?" Pyre murmured distantly, too busy thinking about Iggy's strange sight to pay all that much attention.

"Yeah. They helped us out the first time we came here." Max frowned, tipping her head to one side, "I think that was about twenty years ago."

"That's a long time."

"We almost there?" Keegan shouted, "I don't think Mike can make it much further!"

"I'm fine." Michael snarled, swerving out of range of Keegan's helpful arm. But when she looked back, Pyre could see his fatigue. She turned anxiously to Max, to find the woman watching them all, pensive.

"He's not very strong, is he?" She observed. Michael hissed in anger, but Pyrite came to his defense even faster.

"They didn't let him fly at the Clinic." She told Max, "He tried to escape once, and his Keeper died trying to contain him. The only reason they didn't kill him was Mir…" She trailed off, glancing away. Somehow, it didn't seem right to talk about Mirage. Not here, with people outside her own flock.

"I see…" Max breathed. Her eyes narrowed. Pyrite flapped hard to turn back until she was flying beside Michael, seeking refuge from that intelligent gaze, "We're going to have to work on you guys' technique." Max observed, "You fly like a duck."

Pyrite flushed. Keegan opened his mouth to object, but Max continued as though he wasn't even there.

"We're about half way up the mountain. We've only got a few minutes left to fly."

Only Pyrite heard Michael sigh in relief.

The mountain swelled in her view as they swept closer. She stared up at its ragged peaks and couldn't help thinking that it looked pretty hostile. She couldn't imagine how a bunch of hawks could have had a strong enough pull on Max to make her move in here.

It wasn't long before she could see the cave. Soaring towards it, the cave looked like little more than a crack in the mountainside. But she knew it must be much deeper than it appeared. Unconsciously, Pyrite flapped harder, driving herself up to Max's side once more. Her heart pounded with anticipation. She had never seen a cave before, and from what Max had said, it sounded like there were other people there… people like them.

Pyrite flared her wings, bringing her feet down so she could land. Max, already on the ground, sidestepped her easily, laughing as Pyrite flapped madly to avoid hitting the mountainside. The boys landed behind her, both of them just as clumsy.

They hesitated outside the cave. Pyre rustled her wings anxiously. She had never met anyone outside the Clinic, and she wasn't sure what they might be like. Surely, not all of them acted like Max or Iggy.

"You three coming?" Max's voice drifted back out of the crack. Pyrite glanced over her shoulder, eyes questioning. Keegan shrugged, so she looked at Michael. He returned her look gravely, but said nothing. She had made the decision to trust them in the first place. Now, it was up to her whether they continued.

Drawing a long, tense breath, Pyrite stepped into the cave. Max was waiting just beyond the opening. She grinned when Pyre came through, turning and starting up the short tunnel towards the larger cave in the back.

"Fang!" She shouted as the flickering light of a fire became visible further within, "Come see what I brought!"

There was a moment's silence, and then a soft rushing, like the sound of opening wings. Seconds later, a dark shadow passed between them and the fire. Pyre hesitated. She felt Michael tense behind her, ready for an attack.

"Not meat, I hope." The man's voice was shockingly soft; almost inhuman, in its whispering way. There didn't seem to be any natural emotion in it, "We have too much already."

Max laughed, shaking back her wavy blonde hair, "Not quite!" She called, and then she slipped out of the short hallway and embraced the shadow, "Come on!" She called.

Pyrite rustled her wings anxiously, and started to take a step forwards, but found herself restrained by Michael's powerful hand. She turned, lifting one eyebrow in silence as he shook his head.

"Think about what you're doing, Pyre." He whispered, "If they're enemies, we'll be in too deep to escape."

"Do we have a choice?" Keegan growled. Michael glanced at him, opening his mouth to retort, but Keegan continued, "You couldn't fly far enough to escape them, anyways, Mike. They know these mountains better than us, and we can't hunt. How would we survive?"

"You gonna come say hi?" Max called again.

"Max… who is it…?" Fang's voice was dark with suspicion.

"Just some friends."

Pyre hesitated just a moment longer, measuring the friendliness in the stranger's tone. There wasn't any, but there was no hostility either, nor fear. There was absolutely nothing, as far as she could read.

She caught Michael's wrist and tugged him out into the light.

The man standing with Max was more beautiful than any Pyrite had ever seen. He was built long and slim, for speedy flight, a shape accentuated by the solid black of his clothing. The skin stretched tightly over his delicate features was impossibly pale, contrasting sharply with the midnight of his overlong hair. But it was his eyes that caught Pyrite and held her frozen, wings half extended behind her. They were too deep, seeming to reflect all light, hiding his soul completely. Standing there, fixed in his gaze, she had never felt more frightened.

And yet, one look at his cautious posture told Pyrite that Fang would not hurt them.

Fang didn't seem to need to look at Pyrite's companions. He stared at her for one interminable instant, and then he rounded on Max. His face was straight, his eyes empty. His voice was alarmed.

"Where did you find them?"

Max shrugged, "We were flying over a forest about a day's flight from here, and we heard sirens. Thought we'd check it out. We saw a couple of these guys fly out and head west, so Gazzy went after them. Ig and I were about to join him, but these three came out of the trees like a bunch of rockets." She glanced at Pyrite, "How did you do that, by the way? Even _I _don't fly that fast."

Pyrite flushed, glancing back at Keegan, "It's a… peculiarity of his."

Fang considered her for another long moment, "I see."

"You're taking this well."

Everyone turned back towards the entrance, to find Iggy standing there, grinning, white wings flapping slowly at his sides as he tried to dry the rain off of them. And beside him, a beautiful young woman. Her skin was a light, almost buttery tan, a perfect match for the large, dark eyes and the streaming black hair now plastered to her neck. Her face was set in an irritated frown, as though she had been brutally insulted. She didn't even look at Pyrite before storming away from Iggy, towards the back of the cave.

"What's gotten into Nudge?" Fang asked softly. Pyrite blinked in surprise. It was as though her flock had been with them for years. The others didn't even seem to notice them anymore.

"It started raining on her hair." Iggy snickered.

Max sighed, running one hand through her own hair, "She's impossible."

Just then, Nudge turned back to stare at her friends. Her eyes found Pyrite's.

"Who are they?" She asked.

As one, Fang, Max, and Iggy all groaned.


End file.
